Will Cutler return this season?

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said on Wednesday he’d “want to play next week if they let me,” but he also expressed uncertainty about the time frame for his recovery from the broken thumb on his throwing hand, adding that “it could be [that] I’m done for the season.”

Meeting with reporters for the first time since undergoing surgery last week in Vail, Colo., Cutler said he didn’t want to put a time frame on his potential recovery because of all the uncertainty concerning the process.

During the surgery, doctors inserted three screws and two pins to stabilize Cutler’s fractured right thumb. Cutler disclosed that depending on how fast he heals, doctors could remove the pins “anytime after three weeks, [but they could stay] up to 10 weeks.”

“So it’s just a matter of if they’re not hindering me being able to throw the ball, [whether] I’m comfortable with them, if they’re not pinching,” Cutler said. “There’s a lot of factors.”